Easter in Zootopia
by johnw57
Summary: Nick usually spends his Easter alone at home. But with Judy Hopps around, this year will be different


Nick Wilde had never liked holidays. They were a time to be spent with family and friends, celebrating the goodness in the world, except for those who didn't have anyone. Those sad few were left to their own devices, watching from the outside the joy and affection shared by others. That was what he dealt with every year. The worst part was that this year, the one year he _did_ have a friend, she was going to visit her family in Bunnyburrow.

* * *

"So Nick do you have any plans for Easter?" Judy asked cheerfully.

"I'm probably just going to hang out at home." He replied, looking up from his computer, and noticing the frown Judy now wore. "So what time are you headed to Bunnyburrow tomorrow?" He inquired, changing the subject.

"I'll be leaving pretty early." She sighed, "Those eggs aren't going to hide themselves."

"Judy Hopps: Easter Bunny." Nick chuckled, "I can picture it perfectly."

"Har har." She retorted, "And I'll have you know that nobody hides those eggs better than I do."

"That may be true, but I bet I could find them faster than anyone." Nick said playfully, "After all, it's not like they were hidden by a professional."

"Is that a challenge Slick?" Judy asked with a smile, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms "Because you're welcome to come and try." Nick blanched.

"No I was only kidding." He said quickly, looking back at his computer, "I wouldn't want to intrude on the Hopps' family Easter."

"You wouldn't be." Judy assured him, alarmed by the sudden change in Nick's mood, "I'm sure my parents would love to have you."

"It's nice of you to offer Carrots, but it'd be better if I stayed here."

"Alright." She conceded, returning her attention to the case report she was typing up, "Let me know if you change your mind."

"Mhmmm." He responded, knowing that he wouldn't. Judy watched her partner revert to what she referred to as "Paperwork Nick," the state in which he did all of his boring work while allowing his mind to roam freely. She smirked as the glassy-eyed fox scrolled down his portion of the case report on the computer, occasionally pausing to add a detail. Judy quietly slipped out of her chair and out of the room, being careful not to break Nick's "concentration." She closed the door to their little office, one of the few perks of being the two smallest mammals on the force, and opened her phone, swiping down her contacts list until she reached the one she was looking for.

"Hi mom!" She said cheerfully, "I've got some bad news."

"What is it dear?" Bonnie replied, "Are you all right? Did something happen?"

"No mom, I'm fine." She said quickly, "It's just that I don't think I can come home for Easter this year."

"Oh, your little siblings are going to be so disappointed!" Bonnie fretted, "They're so excited for the egg hunt and nobody hides them as well as you do! Why can't you come honey-bun?"

"I don't want to leave my friend all alone for Easter." Judy said apologetically, "He doesn't have any family that I know of and doesn't have many friends either."

"You can bring them with you!" Bonnie said happily, "The more the merrier!"

"I offered. He doesn't want to."

"Oh, I see." Bonnie said knowingly, " _He_ doesn't want to come. Judy if you'd just told me your boyfriend didn't want to come—"

"Mom, he's not my boyfriend!" Judy interrupted, her ears turning red, "It's my partner Nick!"

"You two aren't dating?" Judy pulled her ears over her face to hide her embarrassment.

"No mom. We aren't dating." Judy said through gritted teeth, "We're just friends."

"Huh. Well, just know that your father and I don't have anything against interspecies relationships dear."

"Bye mom." Judy said, pulling the phone away from her ear.

"Bye honey-bun." Judy hung up and shoved her phone back into her pocket, radiating embarrassment. How could her mom think that she and Nick were dating? Sure they were good friends, best friends even, but it's not like they did romantic things.

 _"He has cute nicknames for you."_ A little voice in Judy's head whispered, _"You spend most of your free time with him. You see movies together, have dinner together, work together. He became a cop to be your partner and now you're staying in Zootopia so he won't be alone."_ Judy let out a small gasp. Did she like Nick? Her thoughts began racing at a million miles per hour. All the little jokes, the witty banter, the casual touching! They were flirting with each other every day! Judy's paw began thumping against the floor as she slowly realized that she liked her partner. Her mind instantly began replaying every single conversation she had ever had with Nick. Did he like her too? Was she just imagining things? She was flooded with doubt and anxiety and her paw became a blur. What if Nick didn't like her? What if she ruined their friendship?

"No." Judy said aloud, stopping her paw and calming herself.

 _"Just take it one thing at a time."_ She told herself, _"Would asking Nick out ruin our friendship?"_ Judy thought for a minute and almost laughed. Nick may not like her, but he wasn't the insensitive and snarky fox that everyone thought he was. He would never hurt her. Judy walked back towards the office and was about to open the door when a thought struck her. A smile grew on her face as the idea took shape and Judy raced upstairs to Bogo's office. She raced into the room, not even pausing to knock.

"Hopps!" Bogo said in a strained voice, hiding his phone underneath a file, "What are you doing?!"

"Chief, could I have the rest of the day off?" She asked excitedly, "I finished my casework and I just have a quick thing to—"

"Fine, just get out!" Bogo replied anxiously. Judy's face lit up and she bounded out of his office, slamming the door shut behind her. Bogo sighed in relief and removed the stack of files from on top of his phone. It was bad enough that Clawhauser knew about his Gazelle app, but if Hopps and Wilde found out, he would never hear the end of it.

* * *

Nick opened his eyes, squinting at the sunlight filtering in from the window. He sat up in bed and let out a colossal yawn, stretching as he did so. He turned to his nightstand to grab his phone and froze. Sitting on top of his phone was a single, neon orange Easter egg. Nick picked it up gingerly and popped the top off, revealing a folded up piece of paper. He took it out and unfolded it to find a small note.

 _Dear Nick,_

 _Happy Easter! I'm sure you're confused so let me explain. You probably noticed that I left work early yesterday. Well, that's because I needed to set up a little surprise for you. I know that you didn't want to come to Bunnyburrow for Easter, so I brought Bunnyburrow to you! Hidden around your apartment, Precinct One, and a few other places in Zootopia are Easter eggs. The greatest Easter egg hunt in the history of Easter! I guess we'll see if you really can find all the eggs._

 _Love, Judy_

Nick stared at the note in confusion. She left him a scavenger hunt before going home?! He looked at the egg again and saw that there was another, smaller piece of paper adhered to the bottom. He pried it out with his claws and unfolded it.

 _What one word has the most letters in it? (1/5)_

Nick snorted in amusement. She only hid five eggs? How hard could it possibly be? Clearly, the next egg would be somewhere in the apartment. Nick inspected the piece of paper again.

"The most letters…" He mused aloud, thinking about what were good hiding places.

"The fridge!" He said suddenly, jumping out of bed and running into the other room. He whipped open his fridge and searched it top to bottom, but didn't find a trace of an egg. Nick then spent the next hour of his life searching every nook and cranny of his apartment, from the television to the oven. Nick finally sat down at the dining room table in defeat. He looked absentmindedly at the mess he made looking for the egg and bent over to pick yesterdays' mail off the floor.

"Wait a minute." He said, holding the mail, "The most letters… The mailbox!" Nick grabbed his robe and keys and rushed out of his apartment down to his mailbox. He shoved his key in the slot and ripped it open. Sitting there all by itself was one neon blue egg. Nick whooped in triumph and grabbed the egg, shut his mailbox, and returned to his apartment. He sat down at the table and pried the egg open, removing the clue from inside.

 _Not as easy as you thought, huh Slick? Here's the next clue: What LUCKY mammal runs Precinct One? (2/5)_

Nick looked at the clue again. She meant Bogo right? It couldn't be anyone else. Who else had control over the officers? Nick shook his head and checked the clock. It was already noon. He grimaced and looked down at himself. He was still wearing his ratty pajamas and old robe.

"Shower first. Scavenger hunt second." Nick said firmly, then headed into the bathroom. He emerged 20 minutes later, got dressed, and headed to the precinct.

* * *

Nick walked into the precinct and up to Bogo's office, knocking on the doorframe as he walked in. Bogo quickly put his phone away and glared at the smirking fox. He needed to get a lock put on his door.

"Wilde you're off duty today. What do you want?"

"Did Judy happen to leave anything with you?" Nick asked, "Something egg-shaped perhaps?"

"Wilde don't involve me in the games that you two play in your spare time. Get out." Nick turned around and exited the office just as quickly as he'd entered. So much for that route. He walked down to the front desk and saw Clawhauser pouring himself a bowl of cereal.

"Hey Ben, how's it going?" He asked. The chubby cheetah looked around for a moment before noticing the fox standing below his line of sight.

"Hey Nick!" Ben replied while taking a bite of cereal, "Happy Easter!"

"Happy Easter to you too." He said quickly "Listen, did Judy hide something in the precinct for me to find?" Clawhauser tapped the side of his nose and put his cereal down.

"I'm not supposed to tell you anything." He said cheerfully, "Judy wants you to figure it out for yourself."

"Of course she does." He sighed, "What're you eating?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Lucky Chomps!" He responded while taking another bite, "Would you like some, it's delicious!"

"No, I'm fine thanks—" Nick stopped as he remembered the one word in all caps on the clue, "Actually, could I see the box Ben?" Clawhauser nodded and handed Nick the cardboard box. Nick reached his arm all the way inside and felt around, finally smiling as he felt a smooth plastic object in his paw.

"Aha!" He said, pulling the neon yellow egg out, "Found it!"

"Nice job Nick!" Clawhauser said, "Judy said it would take you longer."

"It almost did." He said sheepishly, "I only got it because she put the word lucky in all caps on the clue."

"Can I see it?" Clawhauser asked curiously. Nick handed the clue over and the chubby feline read it. Clawhauser began laughing as he handed the note back to Nick.

"She's a tricky bunny." He said, his laughter subsiding, "I 'run' the precinct because I run dispatch." Nick frowned as he realized what she meant. Maybe this would be harder than he thought.

"Thanks for the help Ben!" Nick called over his shoulder as he began walking away, "I'll see you tomorrow!" Nick exited the precinct, opened the egg, and unfolded the next clue.

 _It's a little hot out. Maybe you should get something to cool down. (3/5)_

Nick stared at the clue in consternation.

"Is that it?" He muttered, turning the piece of paper over, "How am I supposed to figure out what this one means?" Nick sat down on the steps outside the precinct and thought. Where would Judy send him? So far, there was one in his apartment, one in his mailbox, and one at the precinct.

 _"So it'll be hidden someplace I know."_ He decided, _"But where? Could 'cool down' mean Tundratown? No. The only place she would hide it there would be Mr. Big's, and she wouldn't send me there. So something cold. Ice cream maybe?"_

"Jumbeaux's Café!" He said suddenly. Nick sprang to his paws and rushed off to find a cab.

* * *

Nick opened the door and the tinkling of a bell announced his arrival.

"Hey look, it's old Nick Wilde!" Jumbeaux exclaimed, "You gonna buy a jumbo pop again?" Nick chuckled. After he became a cop, Judy had made him go to Jumbeaux's and explain his old scam. For some reason, the old elephant thought it was hilarious. He probably would've been a lot less entertained by it if Nick hadn't turned out to be an officer.

"That bunny friend of yours left somethin for ya." He continued, tossing a neon green egg towards the fox, who caught it in both paws, "She didn't want ya gettin stepped on lookin for it."

"Ok." Nick said, surprised that this one was so easy, "Thanks Jumbeaux!" Nick walked back out and opened up the egg, unfolding the clue to read it.

 _Getting close aren't we? Sometimes I like to visit my favorite flower shop. (4/5)_

Nick put the clue in his pocket and started walking. He knew exactly where this clue pointed.

* * *

Nick walked into the flower shop and was greeted by an old friend.

"Hey Emmett." Nick said with a smile, "Long time no see."

"Nicholas!" The otter replied with a grin, "Good to see you!"

"You too. I'm sorry to bother you, but did Judy leave something here for me?" Emmett nodded enthusiastically.

"She did indeed. But I'm not supposed to tell you where."

"That's fine." He replied, "I'll find it." Nick wandered around the store, looking for a good hiding place, when he noticed a horrifyingly familiar shade of blue.

"Emmett, I thought that Night Howlers were banned by Zootopia." Nick said, gesturing to the display, "Why are you selling them?"

"These are genetically modified seeds." He explained quickly, "The component that was used to turn mammals savage was isolated and removed. They're still great for keeping bugs off of produce though." Nick nodded in understanding and then checked behind the flowers, discovering a neon red egg.

"You're going to have to do better than that Carrots." He murmured, opening the egg and reading the clue.

 _You're almost there Nick! I liked making the scavenger hunt, so don't expect me to apologize for it!_

"Don't expect me to apologize for it." He muttered, thinking back to one of Judy's stories, "She wants me to go to her neighbors?" Emmett cleared his throat and Nick turned to face him.

"I was also told to give you these." He said, handing Nick a bouquet of violets, "I don't know why."

"Neither do I." Nick replied as he reached for his wallet.

"No." Emmett said firmly, "You will never pay for any flowers in this shop."

"You're too generous." Nick said, pulling out his wallet, "Just let me—"

"No."

"Fine." Nick said, seeing that this wasn't a fight he would win, "Thank you for the flowers Emmett. I would say I'll put these to good use, but I don't actually know what they're for."

"Good luck then Nick. I'll see you around."

* * *

Nick trudged up the stairs towards Judy's apartment. He emerged onto her floor and checked his phone. Her scavenger hunt to end all scavenger hunts had eaten up the entire day! He chuckled and put his phone back in his pocket. Nick walked towards her neighbor's apartment, wondering why she sent him there, and why she had Otterton give him flowers. As he approached their door, something caught his eye. Sitting right in front of Judy's apartment was purple Easter egg. Nick picked it up and opened it. There were only two things inside. A key and a scrap of paper.

 _It's called a hustle sweetheart._

Nick looked at the note in confusion and then at the key, which appeared to be for Judy's door. He slid it in the lock and turned, hearing the door unlock. Nick opened the door and saw that Judy Hopps was waiting for him, wearing a stunning blue dress.

"Judy?! What're you doing here?! You're supposed to be home! And why're you wearing a dress?!"

"Nicholas Wilde," She began, ignoring his questions, "will you go to dinner with me?" Nick froze and his jaw dropped open.

"As in a date?" He asked dumbstruck.

"Yes."

Nick looked at Judy, then down at the flowers he was carrying. He started to chuckling. Judy watched Nick intently as he began to laugh and her heart began sinking.

"If you don't want to that's fine too Nick." She said quietly.

"You are the slyest bunny I have ever seen." He said as his snickering subsided, "Of course I'll go to dinner with you Judy!"

"You will?!"

"Are you kidding me Carrots?! You're the best mammal I've met in my entire life! I've liked you ever since our first case!"

"Really?!"

"Really." Nick affirmed with a warm smile, "But we can talk about that at dinner." He said, proffering his arm. Judy took it and the pair left her apartment.

"I believe these are for you madam." Nick said sarcastically, offering Judy the bouquet.

"Why thank you." She replied chuckling, taking it from him and sniffing the flowers, "But how did you know violets were my favorite?"

"Intuition." Nick responded with a smirk, "Oh and also you picked out your own bouquet."

"Sly bunny." She answered cheerfully.

"Dumb fox." He completed with a grin.


End file.
